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September 2012

Calling all Fellow Luthiers

A new adventure begins: a shared enterprise called SUSTAINa magazine for luthiers,

designers, suppliers, and lovers of stringed musical instruments.

Following the example of excellence provided by other specialized media (likeAmerican

Lutheriemagazine), we will contribute from this side of the Atlantic to the divulgation of

the arcane art of building musical instruments.

This rst issue is digital and free. Share it, e-mail it to your fellow luthiers, or link it

from your website.

And then help us build the future of this new space. Participate!

Become an author: submit an article (dont worry about grammar or typoswe will

take care of those).

Share your experience: workshop tips, new techniques, jigs you have invented.

Show us the pictures and stories of your creations.

Help us improve by sending your suggestions, questions, or critiques.

Advertise your school, instruments, books, music shop, wood, parts, or any other lu-

therie and music-related services.

And especially, subscribe!Issue 1/2013 comes out on time for Christmas (a great gift

for a fellow luthier or for yourself) and will continue every quarter. Order your subscrip-

tion onwww.FellowLuthiers.com.

Dear fellow, welcome. Consider yourself at home in this place among friends.

Leo Lospennatois luthier, author of books

on lutherie and editor of SUSTAIN Magazine.

He lives in Berlin, Germany.

(www.lospennato.com)

EDITORIAL


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Issue #1

CONTENTS

Interview

Bach, Motrhead And Ukes

Electronics

Wiring Double-Neck Electric Guitars

by Helmuth Lemme

Design

Generang the Strads OutlineBy Leo Lospennato

Techniques

A Universal Neck Pocket JigBy Martin Koch

Research

Player Preferences Among

Old And New Violins

Fellows

Lutherie With A Womans TouchInterview with Maru Grnthal

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain


5/74 3

September 2012

FellowsGuitar Design As An Arsc Search

Interview with Bertram Dhellemmes

The Guitar Finishing Series - Part I

Choosing a Finishing Method

By Wim Stout

Lutherie schools

A Smell Of Varnish And Tradion

The Zwickau Universitys School Of Lutherie

Part I - Camera settings/ instrument prepping

How To Photograph Guitars

(For Non Photographers)

Retro/vintage

Oddies

DVD Reviews

Book Reviews


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Issue #1

Sustain Magazine is produced with the collaboration of luthiers, and edited and published by the Fellowship of european Luthiers. The contents in this magazine are either original or re-produced with authorization of the copyright holders. Any eventual contents without identication of copyright are reproduced as with no known copyright restrictions when the editor isunaware of any copyright restrictions on its use. We endeavor to provide information that we possess about the copyright status of the Content and to identify any other terms and conditionsthat may apply (such as trademarks, rights of privacy or publicity, donor restrictions, etc.); however, the editor can offer no guarantee or assurance that all pertinent information is providedor that the information is correct in each circumstance. It is the readers responsibility to determine what permission(s) you need in order to use the content and, if necessary, to obtain such

permission. If you are, or know, the author or rights holder of any content in this magazine pleasewrite us an email and we wil l gladly include the corre sponding credit in futu re editions.All rig hts reserved .No part of this magazine covered by copyrights hereon may be reproduced orcopied without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles andreviews, citing the source. Please address all requests to [email protected] for Issue #1: This issue can be distributed in PDF format, free of charge. Copyrights applyfor the contents. Printing a copy of this issue is allowed only for personal use. Reselling this magazineissue in any format is not authorized to third parties. ISBN-13: 978-1479127016

For French born Bertram Dhellemmes, 45,

being an amateur luthier is only part of a

true Renaissance-inspired personality: he

directs arsc projects that combine perfor-

mance and visual arts, free noise music,

literature, dance, and only God knows whats

next. And then, he designs and builds electric

guitars.

hp://guitarren.blogspot.com

Marn Koch, born in Austria, denes him-

self as a luthier that builds guitars in order

to write books about it; indeed, he is the

author of Building Electric Guitars and E-

Gitarrenbau. Marn also leads a website

full or resources for luthiers:

hp://www.buildyourguitar.comMaru Grntahl,from Buenos Aires,

Argenna, designs and produces laser

cut parts for musical instruments. She is

currently taking her rst steps as luthire,

a passion that shares her agenda with an

academic career in industrial design.

hp://www.marugruntahl.com.ar

Helmuth Lemme, born in Germany,

was already building phones and

electric motors at 11, and started

developing his own pickups in

1975. He is an expert in industrial

electronics, a guitar collector, and

author of several books on electronics

of guitars and ampliers.

hp://www.gitarrenelektronik.de

Wim Stout, born in The Netherlands, has

20 years of experience as a paint chemist.

He lives with his wife and kids in a 100

year old house where he builds beauful

electric guitars that end up nished with

lacquers of his own formula.

hp://www.DutchHandmadeGuitars.com

IMPRINT

Editor

Advisory Council

Published by

Publisher

Website

Leo Lospennato

Wim Stout

Helmut Lemme

The Fellowship of European Luthiers

Umlaut Publishing - Germany

www.FellowLuthiers.com

Collaborators on this issue:


7/74 5

September 2012

Bach, Motrhead and Ukes


(UOGB) is an octet of extremely talented

musicians who have a unique proposition:

to use only four-stringed instruments that come

from Hawaii. Formal jackets and the funny little

chordophones mark a harmonic contrast that mir-

rors that of the ensemble as a whole: from the ex-

tremely diverse repertoire (which includes classical,

Eclecc repertoire, high quality performances and

humor, all mixed in a recipe for enjoyment.

Absolute protagonist: the ukulele.

UOGB


INTERVIEW


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Issue #1

folk, punk, and metal) to a magical atmosphere that

combines humor and emotion. Under the spotlight,

of course, remains that small, four-stringed piece of

wood: the ukulele.

The orchestra has used this increasingly popular

instrument for twenty-seven years now, which the

musicians dene as the ultimate no-bullsh*t in-

strumenta sort of a music-quality tester. They say,

if a piece sounds good on the uke, then it isgood

music.

The UOGB has traveled the world, playing famoussongs at the most recognized shrines of music: from

the Glastonbury Festival in the UK to the Vienna

Opera Haus, and from Japan to the Carnegie Hall.

What follows is part of the press conference offered

at the traditional Admiral Palast theater in Berlin,

in anticipation of their next European tour. Hardly

ever has a press conference been more fun and full

of good music.

What is the most fascinating aspect of the

instrument?

GEORGE: Well, compared to a synthesizer or a

Hammond organ, it is very cheap [laughter], so we

are very lucky to be supported in our concept here.

They are instruments capable of full chromatic

characteryou can play Bach or Motrhead, what-

ever you like.

JONTY: It is also portable, very easy for us to carry

around, even as hand luggage.

GEORGE: A uke is like a baby [he cradle-holds

his instrument], or like a small cat or dog. There is

something about the uke that makes people like it.

Also, we travel around the world and meet people

from the audience that after telling us how good a

time they had, they talk about ukuleles about hours

and hours and hours [laughter].


9/74 7

September 2012 How expensive is a ukulele?

DAVID: It can go from a few euros to several thou-

sand for an antique Martin or Gibson from the old

days.

GEORGE:Years ago George Harrisoncame to a

sitting with us, and he had an antique Martin uku-

lele that was worth about 8,000. SoWill [Grove-

White] got an antique Martin ukulele for less

money than that, but it was still an antique one.

Where is it now?

WILL: I left it on the Underground [laughter].

When we asked around about the range

of a ukulele they told us between 20 and

30 meters, depending on the windbut

we wanted to know the musical range, of

course.[Laughter]

GEORGE: Oh, its pretty broad: this is the high-

est note [he plays an A5# on his soprano uke], and

it goes all the way down to [Jonty plays the open

fourth string in his bass ukulele, E1, covering al-

most ve octaves].

WILL: And it goes further! [He takes out from his

jacket pocket a miniature ukulele, the size of his

hand, and plays an impossibly high note in it, to the

amazement and laughter of those presentdetails

on this instrument in box on page 13].

(connues in page 13)


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Ten facts

The tradional ukulele family. In

ascending order of size: soprano,

concert, tenor and baritone.

The uke is a direct descendant of the

cavaquinho, a Portuguese instrument

of the guitar family (tuned in fths).

Talking about Portugal: the rst uku-

lele was made in 1879 by Portuguese

immigrants, probably cabinet makers

from the Madeira Islands, who were

recruited to work on the Hawaiian

sugar cane elds.

Talking about immigration: the Ha-

waiian word ukulelemeans the gift

that came here, from uku (gift or

reward) and lele (to come). A more

popular version of the etymology

translates the word as jumping ea.

Talking about jumps: the ukulele is

experiencing a new jump in popu-larity. The rst one was back in 1917

when the Martin factory produced an

affordable batch made of mahogany.

Talking about mahogany: it is the

most commonly used wood in the

manufacture of quality ukuleles;

maple is also frequent, and the most

expensive ones are made of Koa.

Talking about Koa (Acacia Koa)it

is thenative Hawaiian tree. Millions

of ukes, however, have been pro-

duced in plastic: they dont come any

cheaper than that.

Talking about cheap: ukulele prices

start at 9 euros for an almost dispos-

able quality and goes up to several

thousands for rare ones, like the oneGeorge Harrison got for himself.

Talking about Harrison: all four

Beatles played ukuleleyes, even

Ringo. Paul still plays it live now and

then in honor of George, who was the

one most involved with the uke.

Talking about the Fab Four: ukuleles

are tuned in fourths. The most com-

mon tuning of the soprano version

(which is the standard size) is G-C-

E-A, ve semitones higher than the

rst four strings of a guitar.

Talking about guitars: the tunings

of both instruments create a natural

harmonic compatibility between

them and ease the guitarists way

into playing the ukulele.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Photo courtesy of Lanikai

www.LanikaiUkes.com


11/74 9

September 2012

Ukuleles for PeaceThe UOGB ofcially supports a beautiful project

called Ukuleles for Peace: musician Paul Moore

brings together Arab and Jewish kids to play the

uke kids who through the communion of musicoffer an incredible counterpoint to the complex

and frequently terrible disputes between Israel

and the Palestinian Arabs in the Middle East.

The kids form an orchestra in which they (accom-

panied by kazoos and other fun instruments) get

to know each other and share their music with

an audience that (inevitably) comes from both

sides of the conict. The children sing in Hebrew,

Arabic, and English, and by playing together, they

create further opportunities for communal activi-ties involving their parents and other members of

both communities.

(Visit www.UkelelesForPeace.com)

Ukuleles for Peace has grown since its inception

to involve classes at schools in Hod Hasharon and

Tira, two cities separated by an incredibly ancient

and difcult geopolitical frontier; they are now abit closer to each other thanks to a small Hawaiian

instrument and the hope of harmonyof the music

and of the souls, too.

I would love to turn up at the United Nations and

just simply play our music to them as a statement

of what is possible. Words seem to divide, whereas

music unites us all, says Moore.

In the meantime, the parents of the children and

all other grownups, divided by centuries of dis-

agreements, get closer to each other by the example

given by a group of kids playing together, celebrat-

ing life with music and joy.


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It is a small, four-courses, re-entrant

tuned, plucked chordophone. In other

words, it has four strings, and if you play

it right handed, the string nearest your

nose is tuned high. A ukulele is a bit like a

small guitar, but the construction details

are different and give it a distinctive tone.The ukulele is not related to the banjo, al-

though the ukulelebanjo is often referred

to as a uke. The ukulele is arguably re-

lated to the cavaquinho, the braguina,

the cuatro, the mandora, the chittarino,

and the requinto. Curiously, as the early

guitar had four strings, a modern guitar

can be thought of as a genetically modi-

ed ukulele. A ukulele can be thought of

as a bonsai guitar. Some ukulele-style

instruments have more than four strings,

such as the taro-patch, which has up to

four courses (that is, some of the strings

are double, tuned in unison or octaves).

Distinctions between guitar-like, man-dolin-like, and other fretted, plucked

stringed instruments are sometimes dif-

cult to make. There is even a mando-

uke. The instrument called the ukeline

is actually a cross between a zither and

a bowed psaltery, and is not related to

either the ukulele or the mandolin. But

thats another story. (Source: UOGB)

What is a ukulele, exactly?


13/7411

September 2012

If you had to select an instrument by choos-

ing among beauty, sound, or playability,

what would you prioritize?

HESTER: Playability, no doubt about it. The con-

tinued use of an instrument demands it. The sound

is also important, of course. Beauty is not much of

a hugely important parameterwell, for me at the

beginning, maybebut not anymore.

George, in a live show you presented the

ukulele bass with the words: This is the fu-

ture; you cant ght it [laughter]. Has that

prophecy come true?

GEORGE: Well, if you read the historic literature

you will nd that when Leo Fenderinvented the

electric bass he didnt called it a bass guitar, he

called it an electric bass: it is not a guitar, and it

has four strings! [He says it tongue-in-cheek, im-

plying that basses actually form part of the ukulele

family.]

You all come from several different musical

styles (classical, jazz, and even punk). How

does such mix work?

GEORGE:We feel that any music is good music

especially if it played on the ukuleleso we some-

times make fun of classical music and take the most

abject rock and roll very seriously. One of our mes-

sages is that the difference between high culture

and low culture is a perhaps a ctitious one; after

all, Mozart was very playful, and Motrhead is very

serious.

At the end of the interview, Davidnot with-

out a little guiltapproached the SUSTAIN

magazines journalist and shared in low

voice: Let me tell you another pretty popu-

lar ukulele joke: Whats the difference be-tween a ukulele and a trampoline? You take

off your shoes before jumping on a trampo-

line.

Related links:

http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com

http://www.ukulelesforpeace.com

http://www.admiralspalast.de

This minuscule ukulele (barely longer than a

pen) is the smallest instrument actually used

on stage by the UOGB.

It is neither plasc nor a toy: it is a real

ukulele with a nicely gured top and sides; it

has real strings (not just a nylon shing line);

and it produces a realalthough extra high

pitchedukulele sound. The scale is about

160 mm (just over six inches), and tuning the

lile thing is a mission only for the brave. The

queson that remains is: does it have a truss-

rod in there?

Noway


14/7412

Issue #1

WiringDouble-NeckElectricGuitars

By Helmuth Lemme

T

he idea of building stringed instru-

ments that have two or more necks is

already very old; such models existed

in the 19th century or perhaps earlier.

Of course, these instruments were purely acoustic,

a tradition that persists in the many double-neck

acoustic guitars built in our days, but most of them

are equipped with built-in pickups, though.

A one of a kind instrument by luthier Philipp Neu-

mann, from Leipzig, Germany, is shown in Fig. 1,

above. It has a normal fretted ngerboard with six

nylon strings , a fretless ngerboard with ve ny-lon strings, and twelve diagonal resonating steel

strings. Each group is picked up separately and then

mixed.

The rst purely electric instruments with multiple

necks were Hawaiian guitars and had up to four n-

gerboards. Double-neck guitars for normal playing

position showed up in the 1950s, e.g. by Gibson. The

Fig. 1

ELECTRONICS

best known model is the EDS-1275, a double-neck

version of the SG model. Several other manufactur-

ers offer stock models today; furthermore, there are

innumerable single items that are completely made

by luthiers according to the musicians specica-

tions. Nearly all have solid bodies. A very uncon-

ventional construction was the Guild Crossroads,

a connection of a twelve-string acoustic and a six-

string solid-body guitar (Fig. 2 - on next page).

The most frequent combination is six- and twelve-

string guitars. Less frequently, one nds a six-string

guitar and four-string bass (like the headless gui-tar/bass on the cover of this magazine). Since the

only limit is the imagination, many other congu-

rations occur: twelve-string guitar and four-string

bass; two six-string guitars (with different tunings);

six-string guitar and a mandolins neck with four,

six, or eight strings; fretted and fretless bass (four,

ve, or six strings each), etc.


15/7413

September 2012

Three necks are rare; however, a three-neck model

was produced in series by the Korean manufacturer

Career. The Hamer company built a one-of-a-kind,

ve-neck guitar for the guitarist Rick Nielsen

from the rock band Cheap Trick. This monster has a

very high weight and is hard to play, but it undoubt-

edly accomplishes its show effect objective.

Standard Wiring

Most models have only one jack output and are con-

nected to the amplier by a single-core shieldedcable. They have the usual controls (volume and/or

tone) plus a neck selector switch to select each neck

separately or both at the same time.

However, the latter possibility proves itself prob-

lematic for two reasons: 1) While one is playing on

one neck, the unplayed strings of the other neck vi-

brate and can be heard, and 2) The pickups of the

unplayed neck are connected in parallel to those

of the played neck, acting as an electrical load. The

output voltage sinks to half as is the effective induc-

tance: the sound becomes quieter and brighter.

Therefore, it is better to have a neck selector switch

with only two positions (g. 3) to activate one neck

or the other but never both at the same time.

Fig. 3

Fig. 2

Fig. 4

A single-pole/double-throw switch is needed for

thisa component that is not available as a guitar

spare part but rather in the electronic trade. Fig. 4

shows two models of stable, high-quality switches.

The sound settings on the amplier, however, may

satisfy one neck but not the other. Thus, one has

to adjust the amp controls when changing necks.


16/7414

Issue #1

This is, of course, inconvenient. A solution would

be to have an amplier with preset congurations,

changeable with a foot switch: for example, having

a lead or crunch sound for a six-string guitar neck

and a clean sound for a twelve-string guitar neck or

a bass neck (a distorted twelve-string sounds terri-

ble!) One only would have to ip the neck switch on

the instrument and the foot switch of the amplier

simultaneously.

Separate wirings and two cables

If the sound qualities required for both necks can-

not be achieved with one amplier then we need two

amps and a so-called A/B switch. But there is a prob-

lem: most A/B-switches alternate between the sig-

nal paths, but the ground contacts are always rmly

connected to each other (g. 5a). If the grounds of

two ampliers are connected to each other, then a

ground loop is formed: a loud hum comes out from

both ampliers.

Some musicians dont want to have a foot switch but

only want to ip one single switch on the instru-ment. This wish can be fullled rather easily if one

uses an amplier with two input channels. One then

needs a stereo jack in the instrument and a Y cable,

which has a stereo jack plug at one end and is split

up into two individual cables at the other end with

separate mono jack plugs each (Fig. 6).

These plugs go from the instrument to the two dif-

ferent input channels of the amplier (g. 7a). It

does not make sense to insert both into the two in-

put jacks of the same channel (High and Low or

1 and 2; g. 7b) because this would be the same

as having a mono cable, going back to the hum prob-

lem.

Fig. 5a:A/B-box for using one guitar with two amps.

The cheap soluon: the ground line is not switched,risking a ground loop and the consequent hum.

Fig. 5b:This is the correct soluon: the ground line is

switched, too. No ground loop, no hum.

Fig. 6: A Y cable, with two mono plugs in one end, and

a stereo plug in the other.

To avoid this, some people put isolating tape on the

protective ground contact of the mains plug of one

amplier. This is extremely dangerous and

not recommended.A better solution is an A/B-

switch of higher quality that switches not only the

signal line but also the ground lines (g. 5b).


17/7415

September 2012

Fig. 9:Two completely isolated circuits, each with

its own ground connecon.

The neck selector switch on the instrument has to

be wired differently: The middle contact goes to

ground and the two outer contacts to the signal

paths (Fig. 8), so one channel is short-circuited to

ground at all times. This is much better because if

either signal path is just interrupted, the ampliers

would produce hum and noise with open inputs. A

short-circuited input will remain silent instead.

What to do, however, if the player needs to use two

separate ampliers and doesnt want to use a foot

switch to select between them? In this case, the

ground of both necks must not get in contact with

each other. Both wirings must remain completely

separated from the other. So one needs two cables

(mono) and two jacks on the instrument, and each

must be isolated from the other (Fig 9):

Fig. 7a.Correct connecon of a Y-cable to an amp:

one plug goes into dierent channels.

Fig. 7b:Incorrect: both plugs connected to the jacks of

only one channel.

Fig. 8.Connecon of the neck selector switch on a

stereo jack: switching o a neck by short-circuing to

ground

Shielding and Grounding

The question about string grounding still remains.

To avoid hum, in many instruments the strings are


18/7416

Issue #1

connected to the wirings ground using the bridge.

But there is a misconception here. If the electrical

parts of the instrument are not correctly shielded,

there will always be an audible hum, as unfortu-

nately very often happens. In such case, if the player

does not touch the strings, they are subject to an

alternate electric eld emanating from power linesand electric devices in the proximity.

If the player touches the strings and they are

grounded, then the players whole body gets ground-

ed, which works as shielding (at least for electric

elds coming from his/her rear). The amplier then

hums no more, or at least much less. This of course

is not an elegant method to remove hum. Careful,

inner shielding is by far superior. Copper foil works

best because one can solder it. Aluminum foil is

cheaper and easier to get, but it cannot be soldered.

The shielding has to be grounded by contact with

the pots, the switches, or the jack. If the shielding is

formed by several foils, all must have a good contact

with each other; otherwise, the shielding will be in-

complete and ineffective.

Conductive spray paints are not as good as metal

foils. Those that contain copper are quite useful ifone sprays on at least three layers. Each layer has

to be totally dry before the next layer is applied.

Carbon-containing sprays have still less effect. Zinc

spray is completely useless.

If a hum remains despite having inner shielding (a

hum that stops when you touch the strings), the cul-

prits are the pickups, which probably are unshield-

Fig.10:An actual instrument wired with in-

dependent circuits. Note that even if the

common jack plate is metallic, the independ-

ence of the grounds is not compromised,

because the jacks themselves are electri-

cally insulated from the plate by plasc rings.

Fig. 11:Connecon of the neck selector switch with two

isolated wirings.

ed. Humbucker pickups often have a metal case;

the Telecasters neck pickup has a metal cover, too,

which provides an effective shielding. There are also

metal-plated covers for single coils with Stratocast-

er single-coil pickup size. Make sure that the metal

cover is soldered to the pickups ground wire (or to

the pickups metallic chassis). With total shielding,grounding the strings is not necessary. However,

pickup metal covers attenuate the treble frequen-

cies, so if the player wants to avoid that effect, then

complete and absolute protection against hum is

not possible. In this case, string grounding would

make sense: you can connect each bridge to the ac-

companying wiring and shielding, paying attention

to a strict electrical separation of both systems. In

this case, the neck selector switch must be a double-

pole/double-throw switch, connected as shown in

g. 11 below. Have success!

Related links:

http://www.gitarrenelektronik.de


19/7417

September 2012

Design in ancient and medieval

times was strongly inuenced by

geometrical resources not devoid of a

magical or otherwise transcendental

meaning. Examples are the golden ratio and mys-

tical numbers, such as three or seven, which were

commonly used in architecture, painting, and other

artistic expressions. This inuence extended into

the later centuries and even to the present day.

Did Stradivari (or his masters before him) use such

geometrical resources in order to develop the out-

lines of their violins? Several procedures that I have

analyzed (including that of Simone Sacconi in

Generatingthe Stradsoutline fromthe Vesica

PiscisMethods for generang a

violins outline are complex

and non necessarily accurate

in historical terms. This arcle

presents a simple and precise

alternave based on an

ancient geometrical resource.

By Leo Lospennato

DESIGN


20/7418

Issue #1

The Secrets of Stradivari) presented the following

setbacks:

1) The procedure had several dozens of steps.

2) The steps themselves were not easy to follow and

required different geometrical resources (segments,arcs, lines, points, triangles, etc.) that were not part

of the outline at all.

the Sun was a male god and the Moon a goddess,

and the eclipse symbolized the union of both and

its association with creation of life. The vesica piscis

is thought to have been used in the design of musi-

cal instruments too, particularly those with a tear-

drop shape (lutes and the like).

Measurement units, dimensions

Please note that I will always refer to the templates

dimensions. The template is the wooden piece on

which the blocks, ribs, etc., are mounted during the

construction process of a violin. An actual instru-

ment derived from it would be bigger because of the

ribs thickness and the size of the plates.

Sacconi expresses the dimensions of the violin in

what seem to be the original units, the Cremonese

ounces (symbolized as COs from now on). I will

present all measurements converted to metric and

imperial units as well (inches will be expressed to

the closest fraction). One Cremonese ounce mea-

sures 40.3 mm, or 1.5866 inches (1 1734).

The method

The outline I worked on corresponds to Antonio

Stradivaris G form (G for grande, Italian for

big), the largest violin form developed by the Cre-

monese master. All instruments built using this

form belong to his maturity period, after 1710 (Sac-

coni 1972, p. 22).

First, I took a high resolution scan of Saconnisblueprint of the G form, including the geometri-

cal references the author drew on it. Using graphics

software (Inkscape, an open-source application), I

adjusted the width and length of the picture so it

would precisely comply with the real-life measure-

ments described in the book, compensating for any

distortion of the scanned image. Using the same

software, I drew the outline as precisely as possible

In Latin, the name vesica piscis literally means

the bladder of a sh, an association suggested by

the intersections shape. The most famous example

in nature is a solar eclipse. At various points in its

orbit, the Moons disc has the same apparent size as

the Suns disc. As the Moon moves to cover the Sun,

it forms a vesica piscis. In many ancient cultures,

3) The procedures appeared to me to be arbitrary

and somehow forced as opposed to a more natural

and elegant development of a violins outline.

In this article I present a simple and precise way to

accomplish that end, recurring to practically only

one graphical resource: circle arcs and, particularly,a classic conguration of them called the vesica pi-

scis.

Geometry emulates nature

The vesica piscis is a geometric shape formed by two

circles with the same radius, usually intersecting in

such a way that the center of each circle lies on the

perimeter of the other:


21/7419

September 2012

at a 1:1 scale (error < |1 mm|).

Then I worked on that clearly dened outline, leav-

ing the picture in the background for reference and

comparison at all times. Fig. 1 shows how the out-

line looks at this point. It is divided in segments, all

of which are generated by circular arcs of different

radiuses.

Fig.1

Fig. 2

According to Sacconi, the line that separates the two

5 x 4 rectangles also separates the harmonic plate in

two parts of equal surface and weight. On that line

lay the center marks of the fs and the bridge feet.

This horizontal line is located 5 COs. (201.5 mm7

15 16) from the top, and 4 COs (161.2 mm6 11 32)from the bottom.

2) The 5:3 proportion. The second proportion

that will emerge in the development of the outline

is 5:3, which in decimal form equals 1.666. The

numbers 5 and 3 are consecutive in the Fibonacci

sequence, so their quotient is an approximation to

the golden ratio (1.618).

Two proportions dominate the template:

1) The 5:4 proportion,which becomes evident

when the dimensions are expressed in COs . The

complete outline is perfectly inscribed in two rect-

angles of 5 x 4 COs, perpendicular to each other

(Fig. 2).


22/7420

Issue #1

The major circle

The total length of the template (mea-

sured across the main symmetry axis,or

midline) is exactly 9 OCs. (362.7 mm

14 932). The outline is consequently

completely inscribed in a major circle

of that diameter, which denes the seg-ments A and K as shown in Fig. 3. The

horizontal blue lines represent the max-

imum width of the bouts.

The upper bout

The rest of the upper bout outline (Fig. 4) is

dened by two elements: 1) A circle centered

in the intersection of the instruments midline

and the maximum-width axis. This circle pre-cisely denes the segments C1 and C2. 2) A ve-

sica piscis perfectly inscribed in that circle

but this time the circles that form it overlay

each other in a 5:3 relation (the golden ratio).

These two circles (which are in a 4:5 propor-

tion with the main upper bout circle) dene

the segments B1 and B2.

Fig. 3

Fig. 4


23/7421

September 2012

The lower bout

The lower bout (gure 5) follows the same

methodology. A main circle (in proportion

5:4 in relation to the upper bout and again

centered on the intersection of the midline

and the line of maximum-width line) denes

segments I1 and I2. Perfectly inscribed in-

side that circle is a new vesica piscis. Its cir-

cles overlay each other, in this case on a 3:5

relation (the inverse of the upper bout and,

again, relating two consecutive Fibonaccinumbers). That vesica piscis denes the seg-

ments J1 and J2.

The C-bouts

The C-bouts (Fig. 6) are dened by a double vesica

piscis that is formed by four circles, 5 OCs in diam-

eter (201.5 mm7 15 16).

This chained vesica piscis follows a horizontal line

that divides the instrument (again) in a 5:4 propor-

tion. Such arcs perfectly dene segments F1 and F2

(the widest arcs in the C-bouts).

Note that the curvature of segments F1 and F2 is the

same as that of segments I1 and I2, but in a concave

fashion.

Fig. 5

Fig. 6


24/7422

Issue #1

The corners

The corners of the C-bouts are the last step. I took

the diameters and the center points of the small

circles that dene the corners from Sacconis draw-

ing, but why are they located there? The rst things

I noted are the following (according to Fig. 7): 1) The

small circles that dene the upper corners are also

in a 5:3 proportion to each other. 2) The circles that

dene the lower corners both have the same radius,

but unlike a regular vesica piscis, they are tangent

to each other.

Regarding the lines on which the centers of the small

circles lay: 1) The lower small circles are perfectly

aligned with the circles of vesica piscis of the upper

bout. 2) The upper small circles are aligned with

what Sacconi calls the B point, which represents

the harmonic center of the plate.

This point is dened by the intersection of the in-

struments midline and the adjacent line between

the two 5:4 areas that divide the plate into two parts

(the perpendicular rectangles dened at the begin-

ning of this article). Point B is the centerpoint of the

whole plate.

Note how the lines on which the centers of the small

circles are placed intersect elegantly and precisely

at the F segments (the outline of the C-bouts).

Fig. 7

Fathoming the secrets of Strads inevitably makes us miss

the point. The decisive factors in achieving great sound are

a ne-tuned ear and many years of sensitive experience. It

was true yesterday, it holds true today and will continue to

apply in the future.-From www.Klanggestalten.de

Finally, Fig. 8 shows the generating vesicas piscis

placed on the picture of a Strad from 1703, showing

how they approximate the outline of the instrument

(the gure follows only an illustrative end: that in-

strument was probably not even built after the tem-

plate G since it is an earlier model).


25/7423

September 2012

Conclusions

I started this analysis as a mere exercise in curios-

ity. Not being familiar with violin construction, I

was ready to accept that there could be no discern-

ible geometrical base for the outlineor at least not

one I could nd, anyway. I just drew the circles with

the software as precisely as possible, and to my sur-

prise and delight, a very clear geometrical founda-

tion emerged right there without tweaking or dou-

ble guessing anything.

I estimate that the vesicas piscis drawn follow Sac-

conis blueprint with a precision of about 97 per-

centnot a huge margin of error, considering that

the base of my analysis is a blueprint draw by hand

forty years ago, taken from a three hundred-year-

old piece of wood, printed on a book, and nally

captured with a scanner!

Was this the method that Stradivari followed in

order to generate the outline of his G form? Af-

ter all, Okhams razor principle is partial to hy-

potheses that offer simplicity, right?

I cannot possibly state that. Sacconis method is

much more complex because he derived the out-

line using a ruler and a compass (which is cer-

tainly closer to Stradivaris method) and because

he related the outline to other elements of the

body (resonance points, the ffs, etc.). Also, I have

followed a regressive pathone that started fromthe outline already drawn by Sacconi, and only

then I looked for the generating vesica piscis. All

I dare to say is that maybe a method not unlike

this could have been used to rene the shape of

that model (not necessarily to create the very

shape of violins in general, of course). Your com-

ments are always welcome!

Fig. 8


26/7424

Issue #1

The neck pocket routing affects

the quality of the body-neck joint and,

consequently, the quality of the whole

instrument.

The alignment between the fretboards center line

and the guitars center line is extremely important:

If the neck is not mounted dead straight, parts of anouter string may not run parallel to the fretboards

sides and even end up off the fretboard. To correctly

rout a neck pocket, you need an accurate 1:1 template

of the pocket shape. Such templates are commercially

available for standard Fender-style necks, although

some criticisms point to their excessive dimensions:

the neck pocket ends up being too big and the neck

wont have a tight t in it.

by Martin Koch

A UniversalNeck PocketJig

A praccal

method

to route

clean and

precise neckpockets on

solid body

instruments

True, the routing template dimensions must take

into consideration the thickness of the paint layers.

But depending on the nishing method used, the

thickness of the nish layer will range from an almost

negligible thickness to a couple of millimeters. For

that reason, a commercial template will not have

the necessary accuracy for your projectespecially

if the neck of your instrument does not followFenders dimensions or if your instrument will have

a number of strings other than the typical six for

guitar and four for basses. A custom template would

be in order.

Also, because the total surface of the acrylic templates

themselves is relatively small, it is not possible to

attach them to the guitar body using clamps: no

TECHNIQUES


27/7425

September 2012

room would be left to operate the router. For that

reason, they are usually stuck to the guitars body by

using double-stick tape, a less stable xing method.

Those setbacks are addressed by the universal neck

pocket jig described in here.

Router bit

To cut the neck pocket using this method, we need

a ush-trimming router bit, one with a shank-

mounted ball bearing. The diameter of the router bit

should match the radius at the corners of the necksheel.

The jig

This simple jig will t all necks because it is

adjustable in taper and width. The two 500-mm

hardwood boards have straight-planed edges that

face each other.


28/7426

Issue #1

Procedure:

Place the neck in its exact position and

provisionally fasten it on the body using

two clamps, as shown. You will need

clamps with a reach of at least 150 mm.

I prefer wooden cam clamps because

they are cork padded and there is no

need for extra clamping cauls. Dont

fully tighten the clamps yet.

Put the neck pocket jig in place,

press both boards against the sides

of the neck (1) and tighten the star

grips (2). Continue to press both

boards against the side of the neck;

grab the neck and pivot it until the

guitar center line lies exactly in themiddle between the two boards (3).


29/7427

September 2012

When the correct neck alignment has

been found, tighten the clamps that

hold the neck; then x the position

of the two boards by fastening each

of them with two clamps at the lower

body end. It is important that the four

clamps are placed out of the way of

the router.

Insert a third piece of wood that

touches the lower end of the neck.

It doesnt matter if this piece does

not t in tight because the ball

bearing of the cutter bit is large

enough to not follow into any

gaps in the corners. If the end of

the necks heel is rounded, the

front end of the piece of wood

has to be shaped accordingly toensure that it ts correctly. A 19-

mm (34) thick piece of wood

would also t under a fretboard

that is longer than the neck.


30/7428

Issue #1

After removing the neck, the three

boards form an accurate neck pocket

template. You can pre-drill the pocket

about 12-mm (1/2) deep using a 25-

mm (1) Forstner bit to keep stress on

the router bit to a minimum.

The 20-mm thick template material

requires a 25-mm (1) long router

bit in order to reach the usual neck

pocket depth of about 16 mm (58).

Make sure to lower the bit enough

so that its ball bearing rides against

the template on the very rst pass.

Unfortunately, this results in a

rather heavy cut. Keep this in mind,

start in the middle of the pre-drilled

area and move the router slowly

and carefully in a counterclockwisespiral motion, shaving away

only a few millimeters at a time.

Subsequent passes can then have an

ideal (and easy-to-manage) cutting

depth of 3 mm (1/8) at most,

until the required pocket depth is

reached.


31/7429

September 2012

And there it is: A perfectly aligned

neck pocket. Round off the edges of the

neck end according to the radius of the

router bit or square up the corners of

the neck pocket with a chisel. The latter

is my preferred method.

Useful tip: The neck pocket achieved

by this method is very tight. The neck

will most probably no longer go in

after applying several coats of lacquer.

Take the nish material thickness

into account by putting strips of clearplastic tape on each side of the neck

heel before tting the jig.

In the photo you can see an

older version of the jig with

10-mm template height. The

19-mm (3/4) long router bit

required a quite heavy cut on

the rst pass. Enjoy!

Related links:

http://buildyourguitar.com/


32/7430

Issue #1


33/7431

September 2012

Almost all well-known violin solo-

ists since the early 1800s have chosen

to play instruments by Antonio Stradi-

vari or Giuseppe Guarneri del Ges,

the two most celebrated craftsmen of the so-called

Golden Age of violin-making (ca. 1550 to ca. 1750).

Are the qualities of their instruments really so dis-

tinctive? Some opinions 1say that any experienced

player can in less than 30 seconds classify a violin

as a student, decent professional, or ne solo

instrument,2 and precisely identify the violin as an

antique or a modern violin. Neither of these hypo-

thetical statements has been tested, though, until

PlayersPreferences

Among OldAnd New

ViolinsAre old violins superior?

Does the price tag inuence

preferences? This quesons are

nally addressed in what could

be this years most important

research on lutherie.

RESEARCH

On a research by Claudia Fritz,

Joseph Curtin, et al.

A Stradivarius from 170(Photo: The Henry Ford - Flickr


34/7432

Issue #1

now. In a benchmark scientic study titled PlayerPreferences among New and Old Violins, Claudia

Fritzand Joseph Curtin (et al.) analyzed the re-

actions of a group of high-level players in front of six

top-quality instruments (three new and three old)

in the context of a double-blind experiment.

Where does sound quality come from?

A longstanding goal of violin research has been to

correlate the playing qualities of instruments with

specic attributes of their physical structure and

dynamic behavior, and yet no objective categoriza-

tions in instrument quality have been made.

Many factors have been proposed to account for old

violins alleged superiority, including the following:

Properties of the varnish.3,4

Effects of the Little Ice Age on violin wood.5

Differences in the relative densities of early-

and late-growth layers in wood.6

Chemical treatments of the wood.7,8

Plate-tuning methods.9

The spectral balance of the radiated sound.10,12

But authentication of old violins is a process that is

based on visual and historical evidencenot tonal

qualities, which depend on many circumstantialfactors. So there must be other reasons why famous,

old Italian instruments are preferred.

Price and perception

In a recent wine-tasting experiment,16subjects were

given samples to taste while an MRI machine moni-

tored their brain activity. The results showed that

increasing the stated price of a wine increased the

level of avor pleasantness reported by subjects.

Could a violinists preference for a Stradivari vio-

linand, indeed, the pleasure he or she experiences

in playing itbe in part attributable to an aware-

ness of its multimillion-dollar price tag and histori-

cal importance? Conversely, could the experience

of playing a new violin be negatively affected by the

belief that it is still centuries away from acquiring

tonal maturity?

The instruments

The new violins (tagged N1, N2, and N3) were each

by different, nondisclosed makers and were be-

tween several days and several years old. They were

chosen from a pool of violins assembled by the re-

searchers , who then selected the three that they

felt had the most impressive playing qualities and

A Stradivarius from 1703. In

the previous page, a view if

the back of the same violin.

(Photo: The Henry Ford - Flickr.com)


35/7433

September 2012

contrasted with each other in terms of character of

sound. The rst old violin chosen was an instrument

by Guarneri del Ges(tagged as O2), It was made

ca. 1740, that is, during the makers late period in

which he built some of his most celebrated violins.

The other two were made byAntonio Stradivari

(ca. 1700 and ca. 1715). The earlier Stradivari (O1)

was once the principal instrument of a well-known

20th century violinist and currently belongs to an

institution that loans it to gifted violinists. The later

Stradivari (O3) is from the makers golden periodand has been used by a number of well-known vio-

linists for concerts and recordings.

The combined value of the old violins was approxi-

mately $10 millionroughly 100 times that of the

new violins combined.

The players

Twenty-one experienced violinists took part in

the test. They gathered in September 2010 for the

Eighth International Violin Competition of India-

napolis (IVCI), one of the most important interna-

tional violin-playing events.

Nineteen subjects described themselves as profes-

sionals, ten had advanced degrees in music, and two

were later chosen as competition laureates. The sub-

jects ranged in age from 20 to 65, had played violinfor 1561 years, and owned violins between 3 and

328 years old and with approximate values ranging

from $1,800 (US) to several millions.

When trying out instruments, most violinists used

their own bows, which through constant use have

become, in effect, extensions of their own arms.

Throughout the sessions, subjects wore modied

welders goggles, which, together with much-re-

duced ambient lighting, made it impossible to iden-

tify instruments by eye. To mask any distinctive

smells, a dab of scent was put under the chinrest of

each violin. The testing room was divided into two

areas by a cloth screen. To preserve double-blind

conditions, violins were passed from behind the

screen to a researcher wearing goggles, who laid

them on a bed in the order received.

The experiment

In the rst part of the experiment, the test sub-

jects were presented with a series of 10 pairs of vio-

lins. For each pair, subjects were given 1 minute to

play each instrument and then were to state which

violin they preferred. Unbeknownst to them, each

pair consisted of a new and an old violin. The set

of three old and three new violins allowed for nine

possible pairings; as a rudimentary test for consis-

tency, one of the pairs was presented twice.

In the second part of the experiment, the test

subjects were given twenty minutes to choose the

instruments they considered best and worst in each

of four categories:

Range of tone colors.

Projection.

Playability.

Response.

They were also asked to choose the single instru-

ment they would most like to take home. Subjects

were free to play the six instruments in any order

and in any manner they saw t. At the end of the

session, subjects were invited to guess the making

school of their take-home instrumentsan indi-

rect way of assessing their ability to distinguish new

instruments from old ones.


36/7434

Issue #1

Results and Discussion

Of the nine old/new pairs, old violins were chosen

as favorites only 3.7 times (in average; see Fig.1 for

details).

In particular, whenever O1 was paired with a new

violin, it was chosen markedly less often; it got

chosen only once as take home, six times as least

favorite, and sixteen times as worst in a category.

That violin happened to be the Strad from 1700, and

its consistent rejection appears to drive the overall

preference for new violins. At the same time, a sin-

gle new instrument, N2, stood out as the most pre-

ferredin fact, all other instruments were chosenworst at least once in each category, with the excep-

tion of N2.

Just eight of twenty-one subjects (38 percent) chose

an old violin to take home. Given the small sample

size, this disinclination toward the older instru-

ments cannot be condently inferred to experi-

enced violinists in general; however, the fact that a

new violin was chosen over examples by Stradivari

and Guarneri stands as a bracing counterexample to

conventional wisdom.

Can violinists tell new violins from old?

Asked about the making school of their take-home

instruments, seventeen subjects responded. Of

them, seven said they had no idea, seven guessed

incorrectly (i.e., that a new violin was old or vice-

versa), and just three guessed correctly. So it seems

that we are in front of another myth: that of the un-mistakable sound of old violins.

Conclusions

This research showed the following within signi-

Fig. 1: Number of mes each violin was selected as take-home and then as best or worst in four categories.


37/7435

September 2012

Fig.2 Averaged scores of the six violins on the dierent criteria of evaluaon.

cant margins of condence:

1) The most-preferred violin was new.

2) The least-preferred violin was a Stradivarius.

3) Under blind conditions, there was scarce corre-

lation between an instruments age and monetary

value and its perceived quality.

4) Most players seemed unable to tell whether their

most-preferred instrument was new or old.

Notwithstanding all of the above, the particular

visual beauty and historical importance of old

Italian violins will no doubt maintain their holdon the imagination of violinists and their audi-

ences for a long time to come. This prospect comes

through nicely in a comment by one of our subjects,

an eventual competition laureate. When asked the

making-school of the new instrument he had just

chosen to take home, he smiled and said only, I

hope its an [old] Italian.

References:1.Langho A. (1994), Measurement of acousc violin spectra and their interpretaon using a 3D representaon. Acusca 8 0:505515.2.Weinreich G (1993), What science knows about violinsand what it doesnot know. Am J Phys 61:10671077.

3.Hill W.H., Hill A.F., Hill A.E. (1902), Antonio Stradivari, His L ife and Work(Dover Publicaons, New York).4.Schelleng J. (1968), Acouscal Eects of Violin Varnish. J Acoust Soc Am44:11751183.5.Burckle L, Grissino-Mayer H.D. (2003) Stradivari, violins, tree rings, andthe Maunder Minimum: A hypothesis. Dendrochronologia 21:4145.6.Stoel BC, Borman TM (2008),A comparison of wood density between classical Cremonese and modern violins. PLoS ONE 3:e2554.7.Barlow C.Y., Edwards P.P., Millward G.R., Raphael R.A., Rubio D.J. (1988)Wood treatment used in Cremonese instruments.Nature 332:313.

8.Nagyvary J. et.al. (2006), Wood used by Stradivari and Guarneri. Nature444:565.

9. Hutchins C.M., Hopping A.S., Saunders F.A. (1960) Subharmonics andplate tap tones in violin acouscs. J Acoust Soc Am 32:14431449.10.Saunders F.A. (1953) Recent work on violins. J Acoust Soc Am 25:491498.

11.Duennwald H. (1990), Ein erweitertes Verfahren zur objekven Besm

mung der Klangqualitt von Violinen.Acusca 71:269276.12.Bissinger G. (2008) Structural acouscs of good and bad violins.J AcoustSoc Am 124:17641773.13.Fritz C, et al. (2010) Perceptual studies of violin body damping and vibrato. J Acoust Soc Am 127:513524.14.Saitis C, et.al. (2010) Evaluang violin quality: How consistent are skilledplayers? J Acoust Soc Am 128:2284.

15. Plassmann et. al. (2008) Markeng acons can modulate neural representaons of experienced pleasantness. PNAS 105:10501054.These contents are reproduced with authorizaon of the PNAS (Proceedings

of the Naonal Academy of Sciences, USA) - Original paper on: www.pnasorg/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1114999109 .Pictures reproduced under CreativeCommons Licence -hp://www.ickr

com/photos/thehenryford/6218122030/in/set-72157627708595975.


38/7436

Issue #1

Lutherie

With AWomans

Touch

Mariana Maru Grnthal lives

in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the

most European city outside of

Europe.

She is a student of industrial design and a young

builder of electric basses. And she works designing

and producing inlays, pickguards, templates, and

other parts for luthiers. In this interview, she shares

interesting aspects of her business.

How did you get involved with lutherie?

When I started my design career the future I had set

for me was a completely different one; it had noth-

ing to do with music. Then there was a certain point

A lasertouch, that is.

Maru Grnthal, at 24,

produces parts with

the help of computers

and CNC while addingto the number of

women stepping into

guitarmaking


39/7437

September 2012

late in my career, in the middle of a big professional

disorientation and personal chaos, when I decided

to return to the roots of my family that were con-

nected with music, so I started taking bass lessons.

Thats how the idea of designing instruments came

to my headwell, more than idea it was a dream. I

knew that I had to sweat climb my way up, and when

I was ready to make the rst step I met an amaz-

ing luthier (who I care very much for, and to whom

I owe everything I know about this craft) who got

excited about this crazy idea of mine and offered the

possibility to draw and produce the inlays of his in-struments.

What kind of parts do you produce?

I dont have a catalog, since no item is equal to the

other, exception made of the routing templates. I

create new designs for all my products: inlays for

fretboards, bodies and headstocks, truss-rod cov-

FELLOWS

Example of Marus inlayson a guitar by JEG Luthier

(www.jegluthier.com)

ers, and some other services like deep engraving in

fretboards for inlay insert, and simple plan drawing.

What is your favorite design medium?

It all begins with a pencil sketch, or some digital pic-

ture the client sends to me. For CAD drawing I use

Rhinoceros, the CAD program I learned during my

college training. I use it both for 3D and 2D draw-

ing. All projects end up in Adobe Illustrator, mainly

because its the format the CNC machine uses.

Who designs the parts? You, your custom-ers, or both? How does the design process

work?

Im not sure if there is always a design process. at

least not in formal terms. Sometimes the client has

its own designlike a signature, or a logo. Some-

times he sends me references from standard de-

signs; sometimes the order comes from musicians


40/7438

Issue #1

who knows exactly what he wants even before send-

ing it all to his luthier; some other times, the cus-

tomer has no idea what they really want, or how to

do it. And thats mainly why Im here for. I love to be

able to contribute something from what Ive learned

in design, from my passion for art, and my humble

experience in this matter. I try to nd the best, nic-

est solution with the help of laser technology.

How do you reach your potential custom-

ers?

I never promoted my work publically until now. It

was always spread by word of mouth. I work withrecognized luthiers from my countryJEG Luthier,

Versace Luthier, Orsi Luthier, Salzmann Luthier,

Pinto Luthier, and others. Lately I have some pic-

tures of projects on line and my work spreads via

social networks, and I have setup a website showing

my work.

Where do you draw inspiration for you de-

signs?

Its weird to think of them as theyre my designs,

because they are a part of a brotherhood with the

instrument. My main inspiration will always be the

instrument itself. Each instrument moves me in a

very different way. Im inspired not only by other

luthiers, but by photographers, painters, writers,

dancers, musicians.

What kind of materials do you use?

For inlays: acrylic (colored and transparent), naturalwood, and some special works with a combination of

wood and acrylic. For truss-rod covers, high-impact

polystyrene and acrylic. For pickguards, acrylic.

For routing templates, MDF [Medium-dense Fiber-

board] and transparent acrylic.

A reminiscence of the already classic Gibsonstrapezoid inlays, reinvented as a growing pyramid

(www.jegluthier.com)


41/7439

September 2012

My main connection with the community of luthiers

is by attending to local eventsfairs and exhibi-

tions,where I get to know some local luthiers and

their work. I make connections through the activi-

ties related to my training as luthier, also. Beyond

that, I deepen my knowledge of lutherie by reading

books on the subject. Sadly there are no magazines

on lutherie published in my country.

How do you see lutherie as a profession for

a woman?

I dont think being a woman is an obstacle for be-

Do you have any warranty policy?

No, because my products are almost always modi-

ed later by a luthier. Many times the customer picks

up the product directly from me, so I just make sure

its in perfect conditions when it reaches the hands

of the client (the luthier).

How are the custom parts you produce dif-

ferent from those of your competitors (es-

pecially mainstream brands)?

I dont think I have any direct competitors, at least

not local ones. Maybe for some standard piecesthere are other options, but most of my products/

services are custom works. The added value of my

work is that it represents a huge time saving for lu-

thiers who otherwise would have to make this sort

of things by themselves. And for those who dont

have the tools I provide complete counseling from

the rst idea to the nished product. And the value

of their instruments increases, because of the origi-

nality, quality and precision put into the process.

In which ways are you connected with your

local community of luthiers?

Acrylic templates for dierent tremolo system.

Truss-rod covers fresh from the CNC machine.


42/7440

Issue #1

What is your professional objective? Howdo you see yourself in ve years?

I would love to have a company that is dedicated

specically to design and manufacture all kinds of

parts and accessories for musical instrument man-

ufacturers, incorporating new technologies and ma-

terials. But I would also like to fulll my dream of

designing my own instruments from beginning to

end, including the bridge, the tuners, everything.

What do you do when you are not laser-

cutting guitar parts?

I practice photography quite regularly. Sometimes

I even photograph shows and events of my friends.

My second extra-professional activity is yoga, which

I also practice regularly; I am very connected to the

energetic side of my life. On weekends I get together

with friends to share some mates, or coffee. I alsolike reading, cooking, sailing, and going out at night

to hear live music and having a beer. And then I get

back to think about designing beautiful pieces of

wood with strings attached to them.

Relevant links:

http://marugrunthal.com.ar

http://www.jegluthier.com.ar

ing a luthier today. In my personal experience I have

been received with open arms, respected and val-

ued both in my role as an apprentice luthire and

regarding my work.

Do you know other women working in this

activity, or pursuing it as a hobby?

I know women who make classical guitars. So far

none related to electric guitars and basses.

What does your family think about your ca-

reer choice?

My family is amazing. Not only they supported me

in the choice of profession but they are constantlyencouraging me to take my work to the next level.

Although Im sure at rst they thought it was an-

other passing whim of mine!

A whole-instrument roungtemplate for a Jazz Bass.

Luthire: a new wordTimes are a-changin, indeed. Women now

succeed in professions tradionally reserved

for men; professions that dont even have a

feminine version of the name, yet.

That is not the case with Lutherie, anymore:

at SUSTAIN we will use the word luthire (or

luthierewithout the funny acute accent)

as opposed to the masculine luthier. The

word was inspired by Charloe Jaccoud, a

young luthire based in Switzerland (hp://

charloejaccoud.wix.com/luthiere). We believe

that this beauful word deserves to catch on.


43/7441

September 2012

Tell us about your very rst steps into

guitar making.

I began with tearing apart my Kawai

Aquarius electric guitar, damaged after be-

ing own across the stage in a performance. It was

the rst time ever that I looked inside a guitar. I

removed the heavy original polyurethane nish to

reveal its beautiful blond maple wood. I oiled it, in-

stalled a laser-cut aluminum pickguard, had it re-

GuitarDesign AsAn Artistic

SearchArtist Bertram Dhellemmes

designs the most unusual

guitars, upstream of

the stagnation of both

the traditional and the

commercial approaches to an

instrument that once was a

symbol of rebelliousness

FELLOWS


44/7442

Issue #1

wired (at the time I had no clue of how to do that),

led the nut slots in order to install some heavy-

gauge strings, and turned it into a magnicent semi-

baritone guitar that I still love very much. Then I

realized than if I wanted to understand guitars, I

had to build one.

You have an online blog full of guitar de-

signs. How many sketches are there?

I have lled many sketchbooks with thousands of

drawings, in very different styles. I would draw ev-

ery day for a couple of hours. Id go to one of those

kid-friendly cafs, with play-rooms lled with toys

where my kid could play, and Id sip espressos and

draw guitars while he was building Lego machines.My blog reached 3000 guitar sketches. But a point

in time came in which no single guitar was built,

yet. So I got angry with myself and decided to build

the quickest guitar everand thats the story of the

Plankaster[see article on page 45].

From where do you draw inspiration for

your designs? (historic styles, spontaneous

inspiration, work from other luthiers, etc.)

In the last years Ive made a lot of research about

electric guitars history, and still do. Like many gui-

tar lovers, I enjoy guitars from the 1960s, when lu-

thiers were visionary pioneers and electric guitar

making was an experimental and creative eld, not

just business. I love Italian guitars from that time

I particularly have a soft spot forWandr Pioli.I

love also East-European guitars from the commu-

nist era. I have a couple of East-German guitars.West-Germany produced wonderful Schlaggitar-

ren, these big hollow-body jazz guitars from the

1950s with radical designs that most people never

heard of outside of Germany. Its incredible that they

have absolutely no legacy in contemporary lutherie.

My late 1970s Ovation Breadwinner is a great source

of inspiration too; it has all what Im looking for in

guitar design, for it is the perfect combination of er-

gonomics and coolness. And thanks to the Internet

you always discover new luthiers from all over the

world who have brilliant and inspiring ideasyou

cannot rely on major guitar companies to provide

creative incentive anymore.

What kind of materials do you use for your

projects (traditional, alternative, etc.)?

Some of Bertrams sketches.


45/7443

September 2012

A scene of Untled, an instant composion performance

where dance and music are built by mutually founding each

other, in a deeply physical and reciprocal manipulaon of sound,

light, movement and space (Bertram Dhellemmes, music; Helga

Wretman, dance; Daniel Keller& Asier Solana: light design -

Curated by the Real Dance Super Sentai dance company.)

Well, I dont have the tonewood fetish most gui-

tarists and luthiers have, but I acknowledge that

stiffness is the key factor to reach good tone and

sustain. So probably steel, acrylic, carbon ber

and composite fabric are the best material for

electric guitars; still wood is nice to work and has

a special sensuality. Ive used wood but in kind

of alternative formrecycled construction wood

or glued blocksmostly birchwood, which is nice

and rigid (and I love the tree!)

How are you connected with the commu-

nity of luthiers?

My blog provides me with regular exchange with

people in Denmark, Spain, the UK. People I

never met personally but with whom I became

friends-in-guitars over time. I also bought

many helpful books and magazines, more about

guitar design and history than about actual

making. Im grateful to people who post about

their guitar making process on blogs or forums,

or who give away blueprints for free, and those

who post technical tutorials on YouTubethats

how I learnt about the use of a router, or how to

polish aluminium, or how to bend metal plates.

What is your objective regarding luthe-

rie? Where do you see yourself in, say,

ve years from now?

Even though Im really passionate about guitar


46/7444

Issue #1

making, I dont see myself becoming ever a pro-

fessional luthier; it requires too many skills that I

wont be able to acquire unless I give up my other

professional activitiessomething I dont intend to

do. More realistic for me would be to collaborate as

a designer with a genuine guitar maker; so if any

guitar maker looks for new designs combining cre-

ativity, ergonomics and sexiness, I wouldnt say no

to joining, or even creating a guitar company!

Anyway, now I would like to build myself some

models I have in mind, in order to prove that myideas are viable. So I plan to take some lutherie

workshops to accelerate the process and be able to

put more time into concrete building. But I have

another purpose with lutherie: I plan to use it as a

pedagogic tool to teach my kid. It is a real multidis-

ciplinary practice and when you managed to build a

guitar, youve learned many different things in tech-

nical, traditional and high-tech elds: mathemat-

ics, geometry, acoustics, electronics, design, music,

woodwork, metalwork. It requires self-discipline

and condence, but also humility, creativity and

even a free spirit, because you start to explore new

paths in what has become a quite conservative prac-

tice. And what could be more rewarding for a teen-

ager than to play on a guitar that hes built himself?

What is your preferred media for design

(pencil, computer, etc.)?

I love color pencils, because their imprecision can

generate unexpected forms. I carry sketchbooks

and my pencil box with me all the time. Also I

noticed that many guitars conceived by computer

have a high-tech coldness that I dont dislike but

that I dont want for my own work. When I have

an idea I will draw it again and again with slight

variations, until I fully understand what works

and what doesnt. Then I redo the drawing on large

cardboard on a real-size scale, so I can build a

cardboard model[see photo above]. Lately I started

to use foam, to have a better feeling of the shapeand volume.

What does your family think about lutherie

as your choice for a hobby or career?

Turning to lutherie is just another side of my mul-

tifaceted artistic activities. I have a deal with my

girlfriend: she can tell me about her last yoga class

or translate out loud bits of the book she currently

writes, and I can show her the last guitar I fell in

love with, or my favorite design of the weekand we

try to give each other objective feedback.

Please describe your music-related job.

Ive been a musician forever. When I was sixteen, I

dropped my classical piano lessons and invented my

own way of playing guitar. Then I went to art school

and got split between music and visual arts. I cre-ated a dance company and became myself a stage

and video directorbut my work was still mostly in-

volving guitars as dance props as much as musical

instruments. Then, when I got into guitar making,

my visual artist background stroke back, and I g-

ured out that even though I might never become an

achieved luthier, there was a potential into guitars

that exceeded the music alone.

Cardboard or plywood models built at a 1:1 scale are rudimentary

but useful prototypes that allow to test how the guitar will interact

with the players body -and with cases and guitar stands, too.

(Connues in page 48)


47/7445

September 2012

Quick, cheap, and minimalist: the Plankaster

How did you conceive that instrument? Please de-scribe the construcon process.

You must know that West Berlin, because of its past,is champion when it comes to saving and recycling

material. As it was surrounded by East Germany, itcouldnt aord wasng anything the way the rest ofthe capitalist world does, and that shaped the spirit

of the city. Event oday they use pavement and notasphalt in the streets, so when they have to dig they

can put the pavement back. You have very few streetlamps that keep the city mysterious at night, and recy-

cling bins for everything in every courtyard.

And when they dig the streets, they use big woodenplanks to build fences, and re-use then again and again

for years, reshaping them according to the needs

and oen there are leovers piled in the street, stuckin ice for weeks aer a sudden temperature drop in -terrupts construcon like it oen happens in Berlin.

So when I decided to make a guitar as cheap and quickas possible, I found a use for this wood. It had theproper size and shape, and it was just lying there. I gota neck on eBay from a guy in Germany who regularlysells brandless necks with (too dry) rosewood fret-

boards, super at radius, and cheap tuners.

Building the quickest guitar meant also building the

simplest: a non-tremolo strat bridge, one pickup,one volume knob and that was it. I never use tone

knobs when I play, anyway.To sck up to my minimalisc program, I decided thatId cut the pickguard with only one straight jigsaw cut,out of a piece of aluminum sheet I picked somewhere,all stained and scratched, too thick anyway for com-

plicated shapes. I could have chosen a rectangle butI sll wanted a well-designed object so I seled fora trapeze: then the shape and the proporons cameeasily as they felt right. The small sound holes are alsothe right combinaon of easy drilling and looking cool.

The plank was too thick for standard neck screws, so Imade a cavity (with chisel and hammer) to insert the

neck plate. I sanded the wood to remove the dirt andthe splinters, but just enough to keep the marks ofthe rough circular saw that cut the plank out of a tree

trunk, and the traces of me at work, and then I oiledit. I sanded the aluminum pickguard but didnt polish

it to keep it rough and quick. The centered pickup idea[not in the guitar of the the photo, but in another one]comes from Japanese plywood guitars from the 1960s la Teiscobut I saw that also on early Gibson archtops. The chicken head knob was lying around in my

toolbox. I had already decided that I wouldnt use itfor a guitar project, but here it worked just ne.

From naught to hot: an

old piece of wood found on the

streets of West Berlin becomes

the guitar with the beercost/coolness relaonship

that we ever saw. And it only

took a couple of weekends

to build. Note the soundhole

on the aluminum and the

geometrical harmony between

the rectangular body and the

trapezoidal pickguard.


48/7446

Issue #1

Tell us about your current art projects.

My last big-scale transmedia project, which I devel-

oped with my partner, writer and performer Ines

Birkhan, led to some ideas in unexpected direc-

tionssuch as a performance for self-playing in-

struments in which you had to read a narrative text

projected on stage while listening to random music

played by fan-activated propellers on guitar and

piano. Also I exhibited my Doppelcaster self-play-

ing hypnotic soundscapes. In the same conceptual

frame I also performedtogether with projected

narrative text as wellintense quadraphonic drone

music, plugging a Theremin into a dozen guitar ped-

al effects and playing it not with my hands but withthe mere proximity of my body while manipulating

the pedals. It sounds like being at the heart of a hur-

ricane!

And what about guitar building projects?

I have at least ve unnished projects: a neckless

guitar, an aluminum tube neck baritone melobar,

Bertram fell in love with lutherie when he

was co-direcng a performance project

to be presented in a castle near Berlin,

which involved naked dancers, Butoh

aesthecs, AK-47 ries, sheep latex

masks, and free music improvisaon.

The musicians arrived in a car full of

drums, amps, and guitars, and for some

reason, the guitarist (David Bausseron)

brought a pile of guitar magazines.

Those magazines, read in the middle of

the night, caused an epiphany, one that

took Bertram from noise improvisaon

(where guitars were used more as noise

generators than as musical instruments)

to buying books, parts, and wood and

to start developing and building his own

guitar designs, such as this double-neck

version of a Telecaster, shown in thepicture during the wiring process (note

the pickguard shapes, a modern touch

for such a classic model).

No

way

the crackle guitar (based on the legendary Crackle

Boxcovered with metal sensors that could elec-

tronically alter the sound of the guitar with simple

contact of the ngers), an electric mountain dulci-

mer /slide-guitar hybrid. As I said before, I need to

take lutherie workshops in the near future to reach

the next level before I can nish those projects. Also

lately Ive been quite interested in electronics and

Im learning about that tooIm even less savvy in

electronics than I was about guitars, but I managed

to build basic fuzz pedals and noise boxes. And of

course I intend to perform with all these instru-

ments and pedals!

Related links:

Bertrams guitar blog: guitarren.blogspot.com

Angel Meat website: www.angelmeat.com

David Bausseron:

www.myspace.com/davidbausseron

Real Dance Super Sentai Dance Company:

unterhalt.blogspot.de/


49/7447

September 2012


50/74

By Wim Stout

48

Issue #1

Choosing anishing method

for your guitarsTheGuitarFinishing

Series

PartI

Comparisonofnishingmethods.

Porelling,andsurfacesealing.

PartIIColoursandstains

PartIII

Lacquers(Nitroandothers)

PartIV

Othermethods(Alkyds&2K)

PartV

Applicatonandbufng

An in-depth view at the available finishing options for

our instruments; their advantages and drawbacks.

In this first part, a comparative overview.


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September 2012

Finishing your guitaris one of the most

important steps during the building pro-

cess. It denes the nal look of the in-

strument, and it is the most immediate

parameter to evaluate the beauty (and, consequent-

ly, the perceived quality) of a musical instrument.

In selecting a nishing method, several factors en-ter into play. Available equipment, climate, and

other factors have a role in our decision. But at the

end is the result we expect to achieve what denes

the choice. Colors , patterns, glossy or semi-gloss

nish (or dull, for the gothic amongst us) are the

ultimate business card, the one that denes the vis-

ual impact your guitar or bass. The results achieved,

however, depend on our personal knowledge and

expertise. This series of articles aims at expanding

your knowledge, presenting the professional and

amateur luthier with the different alternatives and

the results you can expect by using each of them. If

we intend to accomplish a crystal, high-gloss nish

(like in the instrument in the background photo),

no amount of oil will sufce: we need a lacquer (ni -

trocellulose, 2-components, polyester, etc.). An oil

nish would be preferred when we are looking for a

natural look and feel on an instrument with nicely

gured wood, for example.

So the main variables that inuence the selection of

a nishing method from the standpoint of both the

result we want to achieve and the process are as fol-

lows:

Glossiness level (high gloss, semi-gloss, ormatte).

Hardness of the nishing (lacquers have a

vitreous touch; varnishes are much softer).

Wood-grain enhancement (or masking).

Touch and feel.

The nishing steps implied (bufng, polish-ing, application method, etc.).

Health and environmental concerns (toxic-ity).

What do we mean, a finishing method?

There are different concepts related to what we call

nishing. To clarify the terminology, we must dis-

tinguish among the following:

Finishing products. Lacquers, oils, alkyds,etc.

Finishing tools. Spray guns, spray cans,brushes, etc.

Finishing techniques. The succession ofsteps we follow to accomplish the task (sand-ing, lling, sealing, re-sanding, spraying, pol-ishing, etc.).

A nishing method, then, is the use of a particular

product, which is applied using the adequate tools,

following a particular technique.

Finishing phases

It all starts, of course, with the wood. The process we

call nishing is actually composed of four phases

(not all of them apply for all methods, though):

1) Pore lling.Many wood species used in luthe-

rie have open pores, which must be lled ush with

the woods surface in order to achieve a level nish

(free of imperfections). Before lling the wood, thepiece has to have its denitive shape and has to be

sanded down to a smooth surface.

2) Staining.Is the application of a coloring prod-

uct to the wood, if any.

3) Surface sealing. Sealer products prevent the

nishing coats from penetrating the wood; this way


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Issue #1

we save costs and protect the wood from other ele-

ments (water, etc.). Sometimes the sealing function

is accomplished by the pore lling product used,

which lls the pores and seals in one operation.

4) Coating. Is the application of the product of

choice (lacquer, etc.) on the wood.

Formulation of finishing products

The formulation of the different coating products

boils down to the same basics:

A resin, which ultimately will form the coat

A medium

Sustain Mag 1

Documents

Transcript of Sustain Mag 1